Make a relief out of 3d model
A relief can be generated using shrink-wrapped plane over the object.






Procedure (tested on Blender 2.79)


Add the object to blender and a base plane. Position the object over the plane.

Add another plane over the object and the plane on the bottom.

Subdivide the plane until the mesh is relatively fine. 
 
Apply the shrink-wrap modifier to the object. Set the mode to 'Project', set the target to the object name (in this case 'Suzanne'), set the auxiliary target to the base plane (in this case 'Plane').